Vetting processes have the potential to be misused-CJ
Sharon Mathala | Monday July 3, 2023 06:00
He believes the process should be adapted to the specific needs of the society. Furthermore, he said the vetting exercise should include public consultations to ensure appropriateness of the process and to re-establish civic trust and restore legitimacy of public institutions.
Vetting ordinarily refers to a process of assessing integrity to determine suitability for public employment. “Vetting has the specific aim of transforming institutions involved in serious abuses into public bodies that enjoy civic trust and protect human rights. The public, in particular victims of abuses, is unlikely to rely on institutions that retain or hire individuals with serious integrity deficits,” said the CJ.
“It (vetting) aims at excluding such persons from public service in order to re-establish civic trust and restore legitimacy to public institutions. Vetting public employees in particular in the security and justice sectors, is now widely recognised as an important measure of institutional reform in countries emerging from conflict or authoritarian rule,” he continued.
The CJ further said it is important to clearly determine the positions that most need vetting in the public sector. “The entire public sector may have to be revamped to meet new circumstances, merging, or consolidating institutions, reducing or enlarging, creating new institutions or abolishing existing ones. It may be necessary to adapt institutional staffing to more accurately reflect the composition of the population and to integrate ex-combatants,” he said. “In the judiciary, for example, the most important consideration must be independence and separation of powers.
Vetting elected officials or candidates should aim to minimise the risk of interference with the will of the electorate. The challenge of vetting the security sector is usually the large numbers involved,” the CJ further stated. Rannowane asserted that vetting processes have the potential to be misused for political purposes. “Vetting could be a tool for undermining the independence of the judiciary, or for reinforcing group or party affiliations, targeting political opponents ending up as a political purge.
Abused in this way the process would undermine rather than reinforce human rights and the rule of law, creating resentment and hindering reform,” he stated. The CJ advised that international human rights standards must be integrated in the vetting process to avoid political misuse. His comments come in the wake of public debate on appointment of certain offices. Some quarters believe the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which forms parts of government including the presidency, has used this process to place their ‘people’ in strategic position.
Some have even given example of the CJ himself that his position is a political appointment. But the CJ advises against a total change in senior positions. “By eliminating large numbers of senior or expert public employees, vetting can disrupt the proper functioning of public institutions and create a governance gap. Imperfect public service is preferable to no service at all,” he said.
The CJ further advises that the vetting of public officers should be a gradual process as those who fail the vetting may turn to criminal activities and destabilise the country and economy. “Former security personnel may turn to crime and become a threat. This should be taken into consideration when establishing a vetting process and options such as severance pay and temporary assistance should be explored,” he said.